Systems and methods for estimation of building wall area and producing a wall estimation report

ABSTRACT

A wall area estimation system generates an estimated wall area measurement report of a building. Included in the wall area measurement estimate report are multiple line drawings of a building having a roof. Two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building. A first of the perspective views is substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior corner of the house that is approximately opposite of a second substantially vertical exterior corner of the house on which a second of the perspective views is substantially centered. The first and second of the perspective views include a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views. The walls of the interior surfaces shown are shaded darker than the walls of the exterior.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This invention is in the field of building size estimation, and inparticular, building wall area estimation.

2. Description of the Related Art

The square footage measurements of a building walls are used as a mainfactor in quickly estimating costs of materials and labor to repair orreplace walls of the building and make other improvements ormodifications to the entire building (e.g., to estimate the cost ofsiding materials to re-side a house). Thus, accurate wall areameasurements are instrumental in these calculations. Current methods ofmeasuring wall area often involve a person having to visit the buildingand manually measure particular dimensions of the building, or byreferring to original plans or blueprints of the building. Manuallymeasuring the dimensions for calculation of building wall area is costlyand/original plans for the building may be unavailable or out of date.Therefore, accurate methods for estimating and verifying wall area thatavoid these drawbacks are desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a wall area estimation system generates an estimatedwall area measurement report of a building. Included in the wall areameasurement estimate report are multiple line drawings of a buildinghaving the roof. Two of the multiple line drawings are each perspectiveviews from an angle of view above the building. As used herein a“perspective view” means any view that is an axonometric view, anisometric view or a perspective view. A first of the perspective viewsbeing substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exteriorcorner of the house that is approximately opposite of a secondsubstantially vertical exterior corner of the house on which a second ofthe perspective views is substantially centered.

The first and second of the perspective views include a line drawing ofthe roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces ofthe walls of the building in the first and second of the perspectiveviews. The walls of the interior surfaces shown are shaded darker thanthe walls of the exterior.

The wall area report generation system determines angles ofsubstantially all vertical walls of the building relative to a referencevertical plane. The system groups angles of substantially all verticalwalls of the building into corresponding groups of walls which havesimilar angles within a defined threshold difference in angle. Then thesystem selects a corresponding group of walls resulting from thegrouping that has the most walls having similar angles within a definedthreshold difference in angle and determines the first angle of viewbased on the selected corresponding group of walls such that the angleof view is substantially facing the corresponding group of walls.

In some embodiments, all or any combination of the user interfacefeatures, graphical images and/or renderings of the building, buildingroof, building walls, building model and/or line drawings shown in theuser interfaces in FIGS. 2A through 8 and in the accompanyingdescription of the system for estimating wall area may also be includedin the wall estimation report described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed incolor. Copies of this patent or patent application publication withcolor drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and paymentof the necessary fee.

FIG. 1A is a flow diagram showing an example method of generating anestimated wall area measurement, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a flow diagram showing an example method that may be includedas part of the step of generating the estimated wall measurement of thebuilding in the method shown in FIG. 1A, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1C is a flow diagram showing an example method of generating anestimated wall area measurement using a first and a second aerial imageof the building, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 2A is an example screenshot of a user interface of a system forgenerating wall area measurements showing a three-dimensional model ofthe roof, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIGS. 2B and 2C are example screenshots of the user interface of thesystem used in FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements, eachshowing an example model planar surface of the ground or foundation,respectively, for two different example buildings.

FIG. 2D is an example screenshot of the user interface of the systemused in FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing athree-dimensional model of the building generated using thethree-dimensional model of the roof shown in FIG. 2B and a placement ofthe planar surface of the ground or foundation under the roof, accordingto one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an example screenshot of the user interface of the system usedin FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing a north sideperspective view of the three-dimensional model of the building of FIG.2D overlaid on an image of the building, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an example screenshot of the user interface of the system usedin FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing an east sideperspective view of the three-dimensional model of the building of FIG.2D overlaid on an image of the building on the right side of the imageand a north side elevational view on the left side, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an example screenshot of the user interface of the system usedin FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing a west sideperspective view of the three-dimensional model of the building of FIG.2D overlaid on an image of the building on the right side and a westside elevational view on the left, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an example screenshot of the user interface of the system usedin FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing a top plan viewof the three-dimensional model of the building of FIG. 2D on the leftand an east side perspective view on the right, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an example screenshot of the user interface of the system usedin FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing selection of abuilding wall of the three-dimensional model of the building of FIG. 2D,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 8A is an example screenshot of the user interface of the systemused in FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing removal ofthe selected building wall of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding of FIG. 7, according to one non-limiting illustratedembodiment.

FIGS. 8B and 8C are example screenshots of the user interface of thesystem of FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements, showing acursor used to mark areas for removal (i.e., “cut-outs”) from, and forthe placement of graphical objects representing wall-penetrating items(e.g., windows and doors) onto, the selected building wall 226 of thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 of FIG. 7, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a computing environment in whichsystems and methods for estimation of building wall area may beimplemented or of which they may be a part.

FIG. 10A is a first page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10B is a second page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10C is a third page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10D is a fourth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10E is a fifth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10F is a sixth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10G is a seventh page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10H is an eighth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10I is a ninth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10J is a tenth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10K is a eleventh page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10L is a twelfth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10M is a thirteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10N is a fourteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10O is a fifteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 10P is a sixteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a first page of second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11B is a second page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11C is a third page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11D is a fourth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11E is a fifth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11F is a sixth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11G is a seventh page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11H is an eighth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11I is a ninth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11J is a tenth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11K is a eleventh page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11L is a twelfth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 11M is a thirteenth page of a second non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example method of includingmultiple line drawings of a building in a wall area measurement report,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing an example method of includingmultiple line drawings of a building in a wall area measurement reportwherein at least four of the multiple line drawings are elevation viewsof different sides of the building, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing an example method of determining thecorresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view ofcorresponding elevation views in a wall area measurement report,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram showing an example method of showing labels ina wall area measurement report, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of one side of the building with a line drawing of a wallindicated as being partially blocked in the view by another wall.

FIG. 17 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of another side of the building with a line drawing of awall indicated as being at least partially blocked by an object in animage of the building or otherwise having an issue affecting theaccuracy of the wall area estimation of the wall.

FIG. 18 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of yet another side of the building with a line drawingof a different wall indicated as being at least partially blocked by anobject in an image of the building or otherwise having an issueaffecting the accuracy of the wall area estimation of the wall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a flow diagram showing an example method 100 of generating anestimated wall area measurement, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

While each of the steps shown in FIG. 1A contributes to the overallsolution, each can be used independently or in various combinations toyield improvements in estimating wall area measurements as discussedbelow. Below is an overview of each step in the process, which will befollowed by a more detailed discussion of each step.

At 102, the process receives roof measurements of a building having aroof. These measurements may be estimated or actual dimensional and/orarea measurements of the roof such as one or more of: roof edge lengths,ridge lengths, gable lengths, hip lengths, valley lengths, roof sectionpitch, roof area measurements, planar roof section area measurements,planar roof section dimension measurements, etc. These roof measurementsmay be generated internally by a component of a system that estimateswall area measurements (i.e., a wall area measurement estimation system)and received from such an internal component, or may be generated andreceived from an external component or entity separate from the wallarea measurement estimation system. In some embodiments, the externalcomponent is located remotely from the wall area measurement estimationsystem.

For example, in some embodiments, the wall area measurement estimationsystem may be a system integrated with a roof estimation system or othersystem that provides roof measurements. In other embodiments, the roofarea measurements may be provided by an external source, system orentity, or may be input manually by an operator of the wall areameasurement estimation system.

At 104, the process receives a reference distance. This referencedistance is a measurement indicative of a distance between a referencepoint on the roof and a ground surface. In one embodiment, the referencedistance is, or may initially be set at, a default value thatcorresponds to the height of an exterior wall of a typical single storybuilding (namely, a default distance is used representing a distancebetween a point corresponding to approximately where an external wallmeets the roof along or near a lower horizontal edge of a roof and apoint on the ground or on a building foundation vertically beneath thatpoint on the roof).

In one embodiment, this default value is the initial set value and asmore data becomes available by actual measurements, it is changed to anew value and the calculations of wall area or done again.

In another embodiment, the reference distance is, or may initially beset at, a measurement indicative of a distance between a reference pointon the roof and a surface on which the building rests, such as, theground or a building foundation. The distance is determined via aplacement of a graphical user interface element representing a modelplanar ground surface at a position beneath a graphical user interfaceelement representing a digital three-dimensional model of the roof. Forexample, the reference distance is, or may initially be set at, ameasurement indicative of a vertical distance between a reference pointon the roof corresponding to where an exterior wall meets the roof and amodel planar ground surface representing the ground or buildingfoundation placed on an image of the building corresponding to where oneor more of the exterior walls of the building appear to meet the groundor building foundation in the image. This reference distance may be usedto determine how far down to extend the walls of the building from theroof to reach ground level when building a three-dimensional model ofthe building to aid in generating wall area measurements.

In particular, at 106 the process generates an estimated wall areameasurement of the building based on the received roof measurements andthe reference distance. The roof measurements may be generated by theroof estimation system described in one or more of: U.S. Pat. No.8,078,436 issued Dec. 13, 2011, entitled “AERIAL ROOF ESTIMATION SYSTEMSAND METHODS” (hereinafter, referred to as the '436 patent); U.S. Pat.No. 8,209,152 filed May 15, 2009, entitled “CONCURRENT DISPLAY SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR AERIAL ROOF ESTIMATION” (hereinafter, referred to as the'152 patent); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/019,228 filed Feb. 1,2011 and entitled “GEOMETRIC CORRECTION OF ROUGH WIREFRAME MODELSDERIVED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS” (hereinafter, referred to as the '228application); U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/594,964,filed Feb. 3, 2012 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATION OFBUILDING FLOOR AREA” (hereinafter, referred to as the '964 application);U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/594,956, filed Feb. 3,2012 and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATION OF BUILDING WALLAREA” (hereinafter, referred to as the '956 application); and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/757,712, filed Feb. 1, 2013 and entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ESTIMATION OF BUILDING FLOOR AREA” (AttorneyDocket No. 290115.40901 and hereinafter, referred to as the '712application), which are each incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Additionally, it is expressly contemplated that any operable combinationof one or more of any of the features or components of the estimationsystems, measurement systems and/or reports described or shown in, butnot limited to: the; the '436 patent; the '244 application; the '152patent; the '228 application; the '964 application; the '956application; and/or the '712 application (Attorney Docket No.290116.40901); may be integrated and/or used with, or in, any operablecombination of one or more of any of the features or components of thewall estimation systems and/or reports described or shown herein, andare operably included in various different embodiments.

In many such embodiments, one or more of the roof measurements are basedon aerial photographs of the building via manual or automated analysisof roof features, such as by using the roof estimation system and/orother modules described in one or more of the; the '436 patent; the '244application; the '152 patent; the '228 application; the '964application; the '956 application; and/or the '712 application (AttorneyDocket No. 290115.40901). Thus, utilizing some embodiments describedherein, one may estimate wall area measurements of a building merelyusing one or more aerial photographs of the building, with little or noadditional information initially needed.

FIG. 1B is a flow diagram showing an example method 110 that may beincluded as part of the step of generating the estimated wallmeasurement of the building in the method shown in FIG. 1A, according toone non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

While each of the steps shown in FIG. 1B contributes to the overallsolution, each can be used independently or in various combinations toyield improvements in estimating wall area measurements as discussedbelow.

At 112, the process initially includes the three-dimensional model ofthe roof described above as part of a three-dimensional model of thebuilding.

At 114, the process generates a wall in the three-dimensional model ofthe building by extending the wall from along an edge of the roof towardthe ground surface. In particular, the wall area estimation systemextends the wall a distance until either intersecting a level of theground surface, according to the received measurement indicative of thedistance between the reference point on the roof and the ground surface,or intersecting another surface of the roof, according to thethree-dimensional model of the roof. In this manner, both the dimensionsand shape of the wall may be built within the three-dimensional model ofthe building. For example, this may include a triangular shape of thewall underneath a roof gable, a section of the wall between two levels,planar surfaces or facets of the roof, etc. This process may be repeatedfor each exterior wall of the building to build a three-dimensionalmodel of the building including, for example, a combinedthree-dimensional model of the roof and exterior walls of the building.

At 116, the process uses dimensions of the wall generated in thethree-dimensional model of the building to determine area of the wall.This also may be repeated for each wall such that a total wall area forthe entire building may be generated.

This three-dimensional model of the building may be rendered within agraphical user interface of the wall estimation system. The graphicaluser interface provides selectable user interface elements within thegraphical user interface configured to be placed by a user or by anautomated identification of image features on areas of walls of thebuilding within the three-dimensional model. These graphical userinterface elements represent areas missing from the wall such as doorsor windows which are not to be included in the total wall areameasurement. These graphical user interface elements may have dimensionscorresponding to these areas missing from the wall and may also beadjustable by the user. The graphical user interface elements may alsohave initial dimensions corresponding to those of an expected windowsize or an expected door size (e.g., standard or typical window or doorsizes). Once placed on the rendered three-dimensional model, the wallarea measurements will be automatically adjusted accordingly,corresponding to the area associated with each respective element placedon three-dimensional model.

FIG. 1C is a flow diagram showing an example method 120 of generating anestimated wall area measurement using a first and a second aerial imageof the building, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

At step 122 the process receives a first and a second aerial image of abuilding having a roof, each of the aerial images providing a differentview of the roof of the building.

At 124, the process correlates the first aerial image with the secondaerial image. This correlation process is described in one or more ofthe; the '436 patent; the '244 application; the '152 patent; the '228application; the '964 application; the '956 application; and/or the '712application (Attorney Docket No. 290116.40901). In some embodiments,correlating the aerial images may include registering pairs of points onthe first and second aerial images, each pair of points corresponding tosubstantially the same point on the roof depicted in each of the images.Correlating the aerial images may be based at least in part on inputreceived from a human operator and/or automatic image processingtechniques.

For example, the process may identify a set of reference points in eachof the images. The process then uses these reference points and anyacceptable algorithm to co-register the images and reconstruct thethree-dimensional geometry of the object (e.g., a building roof)identified by the reference points. There are a variety ofphotogrammetric algorithms that can be utilized to perform thisreconstruction. One such algorithm which may be utilized by the processuses photographs taken from two or more view points to “triangulate”points of interest on the object in three-dimensional space. Thistriangulation can be visualized as a process of projecting a lineoriginating from the location of the photograph's observation point thatpasses through a particular reference point in the image. Theintersection of these projected lines from the set of observation pointsto a particular reference point identifies the location of that point inthree-dimensional space. Repeating the process for all such referencepoints allows the software to build a three-dimensional model of thestructure.

At 126 the process generates a three-dimensional model of the roof thatincludes a plurality of planar roof sections that each has acorresponding slope, area, and edges. This three-dimensional model ofthe roof is generated based at least in part on the correlation betweenthe first and second aerial images, examples of which are also describedin one or more of the; the '436 patent; the '244 application; the '152patent; the '228 application; the '964 application; the '956application; and/or the '712 application (Attorney Docket No.290116.40901). For example, in some embodiments, generating thethree-dimensional model may be based, at least in part, on indicationsof features of the roof, such as valleys, ridges, edges, planes, etc.Generating the three-dimensional model may also be based at least inpart on input received from a human operator (e.g., indications of roofridges and valleys) and/or automatic image processing techniques.

At 128 the process generates an estimated wall area measurement of thebuilding. This estimated wall area measurement is generated based atleast in part on the three-dimensional model of the roof and anassessment of the distance between a reference point on the roof and theground surface. In some embodiments, this assessment may be unscaled(e.g., using pixel values). This assessment may be made subjectivelyand/or visually by the user looking at the line drawings and imagespresented by the system and providing corresponding input to the system,or it may be made by computationally driven algorithms of the systemassessing wall-ground surface intersection. For example, this referencedistance may be used by the wall area estimation system to determine howfor down to extend the walls of the building (e.g., to a ground level orbuilding foundation level) when building a three-dimensional model ofthe building, or alternatively, how far up to extend the walls of thebuilding from a ground level or building foundation level to the roofmodel.

In some embodiments, the entire process, or nearly the entire process,of generating estimated wall areas is automated by the systemautomatically recognizing these particular building features and groundfeatures in one or more images of the building through image analysisthat utilizes typical characteristics of such features as viewed fromthe various angles of those in the one or more images.

FIGS. 2A through 8 show example screen shots of a graphical userinterface of the system for generating wall area measurements at variouspoints in the process of building the three-dimensional model of thebuilding and generating the wall measurements (e.g., as described abovewith reference to FIGS. 1A-1C).

FIG. 2A is an example screenshot 200 of a user interface of a system forgenerating wall area measurements showing a three-dimensional model ofthe roof 210, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

Shown is a graphical user interface including two panels. The rightpanel 204 is displaying aerial image of a building showing a top obliqueview 206 of the building and the left panel 202 is displaying aninteractive three-dimensional model of the roof 210 of the building.Also note that the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 is overlaidon the roof of the building shown in the aerial image 206 on the rightpanel 204 in accordance with the particular angle of the top obliqueview 206 of the building. This roof model may also be an interactivemodel that can be moved, rotated, adjusted or otherwise manipulated invarious manners by the user via a mouse, touch screen or other inputdevice such that it is overlaid on the roof of the building shown in theimage 206 in a position and angle of view corresponding to the positionand angle of view of the roof shown in the image 206. In one embodiment,the interactive three-dimensional model of the roof 210 is rendered inthe position on the image 206 overlaid on the roof of the building asshown in the image 206 in response to a user selecting the “createupper” button 214 shown in the screenshot 200.

The three-dimensional model of the roof 210 shown in FIG. 2A may be usedin the part of the process 100 shown in FIG. 1A which receives roofmeasurements of the building. For example, the roof measurements of thebuilding referenced in process 100 may be those defined by thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210. Also, the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 is an example of a three-dimensional model of aroof which may be included as part of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding described above in process 110 of FIG. 1B.

FIGS. 2B and 2C are example screenshots 220 and 225, respectively, ofthe user interface of the system of FIG. 2A for generating wall areameasurements, each showing an example model planar surface of the groundor foundation, respectively, for two different example buildings. Shownin FIG. 2B is a model planar ground surface 216 in the shape a footprintof the building shown in image 206. In FIG. 2B, the example model planarground surface 216 is rendered under a three-dimensional model of theroof 210 of the building shown in image 206 and, in FIG. 2C, an examplemodel planar ground surface 217 in the shape of the footprint of adifferent example building is overlaid on the different example buildingshown in image 207.

In some embodiments, the estimation of the model planar ground surface217 need not be planar. The ground could just as well be modeled by amore complex surface. Also, in some embodiments, computation andplacement of the ground can be done in automated fashion and not done by“user placement”. For example, the system described herein may determinethe ground surface (not necessarily planar) and the placement of theground relative to the roof, e.g., automatic or system-assisteddetermination of the eave to ground distance. This could also be donewith methods for roof estimation during the registration process ofregistering corresponding or matching points on two different images ofthe roof, if ground points (as well as the roof points) participate inthe registration and are then subsequently fit to a surface to estimatea surface model of the ground. These alternative methods also do notnecessarily require visibility of the house-to-ground intersection. Ifthe ground (plane or complex surface) is determined near to the house,the resulting ground surface can be extended (extrapolated orinterpolated from surrounding areas determined to be ground level) bythe system under the structure even if the base of the structure iscovered with bushes or otherwise obscured such that it would prevent adirect visible assessment by the user.

The screenshot 220 of FIG. 2B shows a user interface that may bedisplayed as part of the process 100 shown in FIG. 1A. For example theprocess may receive a measurement indicative of a distance between areference point on a roof represented by the three-dimensional model ofthe roof 210 and the ground. As used herein, “ground” generally meansany surface on which a building may rest (including a buildingfoundation, platform, other substantially horizontal and/or flat surfaceor structure on which the building rests, etc.). In some embodiments,the assessment indicative of a distance between a reference point on theroof and the ground may be a distance corresponding to a default valueof the typical wall height of a single story building.

Also, In some embodiments, this assessment may be received initially asuser input or a default value corresponding to an estimated orapproximate vertical distance between a point at or near a lowerhorizontal edge of the roof 210 (e.g., a roof eave) and the surface onwhich the building rests or appears to rest (e.g., the ground orbuilding foundation) which, in some embodiments, may approximatelycorrespond to the typical wall height of a single story building. Forexample, a typical wall height of a single story building may be 8 ft.to 8.5 ft, and thus, an example of the default value of the measurementindicative of a distance between a reference point on the roof 210 andthe ground will correspond to a value in this range representing thetypical wall height of a single story building. However, this defaultvalue may vary in different embodiments and may also be selectableand/or configurable by the user (e.g., to be a default valuecorresponding to the typical height of a two story building or othervalue).

In some embodiments, a user may indicate a reference point on the groundin the image 206 shown in the right panel 204 (e.g., by a mouse click orother selection) to provide this assessment. For example, the referencepoint may be at a point on image 206 selected by the user correspondingto a location where the building wall would appear or is visuallyestimated to meet the ground, represented by point 227. Although theoblique angle of view of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210shown overlaid on image 206 is different than the angle of view of theof the line drawing of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 shownin panel 202, these views may be selected to match. In some embodimentsthese views may be selectively locked such that, when selected to do so,the angle of view of the of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210shown overlaid on the image 206 is always the same as the angle of viewof the of the line drawing of the three-dimensional model of the roof210 shown in panel 202 until there is no longer a selection to do so.

Using reference point 227, the system will calculate the distancerepresented by dashed line 223 from the selected reference point 227 onthe ground to the point 229 above the ground on the roof, on thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210. This will be a point verticallyabove the ground within the three-dimensional reference framework of thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210, according to howthree-dimensional model of the roof 210 as it is overlaid on the image206. For example, point 227 represents to the system a point where theground meets the building wall that is potentially visible according tothe angle of view of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 asoverlaid on the image 206.

According to the position and angle of view of the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 as overlaid on the image 206, the system thencalculates the vertical distance 223 from point 227 to a planar surfaceor edge, point 229, of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210directly above point 227 within the three-dimensional referenceframework of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210. As a result ofthe registration process, projections of lines in the model spacerepresenting changes in height in physical units (e.g. vertical withrespect to the earth) can be projected at the correct pixel lengthwithin the image. Likewise, the reverse coordinate transformation isavailable—pixel distances between pixels in the image can be transformedback to model space coordinates to assess height in physical units. Thereceived assessment of distance 223 is therefore indicative of adistance between a reference point on the roof and a reference point onthe ground that will be used as the starting point for the calculateddistance of the wall height.

The selection of this reference point 227 on the ground may additionallyor alternatively be performed by automated image analysis detecting thetransition between a wall of the building and the ground in one or moreperspective or oblique images of the of the building. For example, thisdetection of transitions between the wall of the building and the groundmay be performed at locations or sections of the image vertically undera roof eave or gable potentially visible according to the position andangle of view of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 as overlaidon the image 206 to facilitate or aid in the selection a reference pointon the ground.

The determination of the wall height can be performed at any locationfrom any side where the ground is visible in the photographic image ofthe roof. For example, it can be done from each of the north, south,east and west views. Since the ground might slope from one side of thehome to the other side, a measurement of each side is the most accurate.Alternatively, if the one side of the house does not provide a clearview of the ground where the wall of the home meets the ground, as mightbe the case if a deck, trees, bushes or other obstruction is present,the software program can use the height measurement to the next adjacentwall with which it forms a corner as the height value of the wall. As afurther alternative, if one wall is measured, this one measurement canbe accepted as being the same for all walls unless the operatorindicates that some walls are of a different height.

An approximation of the ground surface may alternatively be determinedusing a plurality of views whose ground features were correlated duringthe registration process. These ground points can be connected into amesh or fit to a smoothed mathematical function such as a polynomialsurface. With both the ground surface and the roof model expressed inmodel space coordinates, assessment of roof to ground distance isachieved by the respective z coordinates resulting from an intersectingof vertical line with the roof and ground surface models.

Some homes built on a slope will have a one-story front wall and atwo-story back wall and the side walls will gradually increase in heightfrom the front to the back. Of those types of homes, the front wallheight is measured or estimated, the back wall height is measured orestimated, and then the height of each side wall is set to be that ofthe front wall at its front corner and that of the back wall at its backcorner, and to increase in a linear measure between the two.

‘Create lower’ creates the floor or ‘foundation’ onto which the wallsare attached. When on flat ground, this is coincident with the groundsurface model. However, for buildings with walk-out there may be morethan one floor plane at different elevations. The edge of some or all ofeach of these floor planes may coincide with where the buildingintersects the ground surface model. However, in the case of a partialbasement, the plane of the floor model may be below the grade of groundsurface model representing the terrain around the structure. In whichcase, there will be exterior wall area not visible from the ground whosearea may not be included in the wall diagrams (similar to soffits) as itrepresents wall that is not covered wall covering materials.

In the present example embodiment, however, ground surface model is notused in this capacity. Rather, the elevation of the foundation isevaluated and adjusted in the user interface to become coincident withat least one wall-ground intersection within at least one image. Thebase of the resulting wall facets can be adjusted into a curve followingthe wall-ground intersection observed in the images. In that way theunderground portion of the exterior

In response to the user selecting the “create lower” button 222 shown onscreenshot 220, the wall area estimation system will render the modelplanar surface of the ground 216 (e.g., as the shape of the buildingfootprint) in the corresponding area underneath the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 in panel 202 at some distance below thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210. Shown in panel 202 on the leftof the user interface in screenshot 220, the planar surface of theground 216 is automatically rendered to scale as the shape of thebuilding footprint and is rendered such that it is shown from the sameangle of view as that of the line drawing of the three-dimensional modelof the roof 210 shown in the panel 202. The shape of the buildingfootprint may be determined initially by the system as the shape of theoutside perimeter of a top down view of the three-dimensional model ofthe roof 210, for example, the top down view of the three-dimensionalmodel 224 in panel 202 in FIG. 6, or by existing known buildingmeasurements. The planar surface of the ground 216 having the shape ofthe building footprint is rendered such that the corners of the planarsurface of the ground 216 forming the shape of the building footprintinitially line up vertically beneath the corresponding corners of theperimeter of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 within thethree-dimensional reference framework of the three-dimensional model ofthe roof 210.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, the planar surface of theground 216 in the shape of the building footprint is rendered in theleft panel 202 of the user interface in screenshot 220 at a distanceunder the roof 210 equal to or based on the received measurementindicative of the distance between the reference point 229 on the roofand the ground, point 227, as described above. In some embodiments, themeasurement indicative of the distance between the reference point onthe roof and the ground may be arbitrary default value or may be basedon other characteristics of the image 206 and/or the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 overlaid on the image 206. Thus, in someembodiments, the distance below the three-dimensional model of the roof210 at which the planar surface of the ground 216 is initially renderedmay be arbitrary default value or may be based on other characteristicsof the image 206 and/or the three-dimensional model of the roof 210overlaid on the image 206.

In addition to the planar surface of the ground 216 in the shape of thebuilding footprint being rendered in the left panel 202 of the userinterface in screenshot 220, it is also overlaid at a correspondingposition on the image of the building 206 such that it is shown from thesame angle of view as the view of the building shown in the image 206.In FIG. 2B, the planar surface of the ground 216 is not shown overlaidon the example image 206 in FIG. 2B because it would be somewhatobscured by the example red-colored translucent three-dimensional modelof the roof 210 that is also overlaid on image 206. However, FIG. 2Cshows an example of a different building for which a planar surface ofthe ground 217 having the shape of the building footprint is overlaid onan image 207 of the building. In FIG. 2C, the planar surface of theground 217 having the shape of the building footprint is overlaid on theimage 207 of the building below a three-dimensional model of the roof221 of that building that is also overlaid on the image 207, but whichis has transparent roof sections such that the overlaid planar surfaceof the ground 217 having the shape of the building footprint it is notobscured by the overlaid three-dimensional model of the roof 221. Inparticular, the planar surface of the ground 217 in FIG. 2C, having theshape of the building footprint, is automatically overlaid on the image207 such that it is shown from the same angle of view of the examplebuilding as shown in image 207.

The planar surface of the ground 216 is adjustable user interfacecontrol such that the user may change the location, size and/ororientation of the planar surface of the ground 216 relative to thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210 to match that of the groundrelative to the roof of the building in the image 206 showing an obliqueview of the building. Likewise, the same adjustable user interfacecontrol functionality described above applies to the planar surface ofthe ground 217 shown overlaid on the image 207 of the example buildingof FIG. 2C with respect to the to the three-dimensional model of theroof 221 of that building overlaid on the image 207 of that building.

The user may move, manipulate, correct and/or rotate the line drawing ofthe three-dimensional model of the roof 210 and planar surface of theground 216, or a portion thereof (e.g., individual line segments), shownin user interface panel 202 together or individually using a mouse,touch screen, or other input device. Similarly, the user may move,manipulate and/or rotate the line drawing of the three-dimensional modelof the roof 210 overlaid on the image of the roof 206 shown in panel 204and a planar surface of the ground 216 which may also be overlaid onimage 206 or in image 207 of FIG. 2C, or a portion thereof, together orindividually using a mouse, touch screen, or other input device.Accordingly, when such movement, manipulation, correction and/orrotation occurs to the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 and/orplanar surface of the ground 216 shown on one user interface panel 202,an equivalent corresponding movement, manipulation, correction and/orrotation occurs to the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 and/orplanar surface of the ground 216 shown in the other user interface panel204. These equivalent corresponding movements, manipulations,corrections and/or rotations occur substantially simultaneously.However, in other embodiments, these equivalent corresponding movements,manipulations, corrections and/or rotations may occur substantiallyconcurrently, soon after a corresponding equivalent action, orsubsequent to a corresponding equivalent action.

For example, if the user moves the line drawing of the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 within the user interface panel 202, acorresponding movement to the line drawing of the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 overlaid on the image 206 will occur as carriedout by the software. Likewise, if the user moves the planar surface ofthe ground 216 within the user interface panel 202, a correspondingmovement to a planar surface of the ground 216 overlaid on the image 206will occur, not shown in FIG. 2B, but see, e.g., the planar surface ofthe ground 217 overlaid on the corresponding image 207 in the exampleshown in FIG. 2C. Also, in some alternative embodiments, there may be anoption selectable by the user to lock together the line drawing of thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210 and the planar surface of theground 216 having the shape of the building footprint underneath it,such that movement by the user of one causes the movement of the other,either within in the same panel or both panels, for example, in bothuser interface panels 202 and 204.

The surfaces defined by the line drawing of the three-dimensional modelof the roof 210 may be transparent, as shown in panel 202, a solid coloror may be a translucent color as shown on image 206 in user interfacepanel 204 to draw attention to the line drawing of the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 210 or differentiate the line drawing of thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210 from other features or objectsin the image 206 or other objects. Likewise, the planar surface of theground 216, which may be overlaid on the image 206 (see, e.g., planarsurface of the ground 217 overlaid on image 207 in FIG. 2C) may betransparent, a solid color or may be a translucent color as shown inuser interface panel 202 (see also, e.g., planar ground surface 217 inimage 207 in FIG. 2C). This coloring may be to draw attention to ordifferentiate the planar surface of the ground 216 from other featuresor objects in the image 206 or other objects. Also, the surfaces definedby line drawing of the three-dimensional model of the roof 210 and theplanar surface of the ground 216 may be differently highlighted,differently colored, or otherwise differently marked with respect toeach other to differentiate those objects from themselves or otherobjects.

As additional example, FIG. 2C, as explained above, is an examplescreenshot 225 of the user interface of the system of FIG. 2A forgenerating wall area measurements showing a planar ground surface 217overlaid on an image 207 of an oblique view of a different examplebuilding. In the example shown in FIG. 2C, in response to the userselecting the “create lower” button 222 shown on screenshot 225, thewall area estimation system renders the planar surface of the ground 217having the shape of and representing the footprint of the building suchthat the planar surface of the ground 217 is overlaid in thecorresponding area vertically under the model of the roof 221 of thebuilding on the image 207. For example, this may be according to thedefault value corresponding to the wall height of a typical one storyhouse or building, which height might be 8 feet, 9 feet, 10 feet, oranother value. The planar ground surface 217 overlaid on an image 207may then be adjusted by the user by the system enabling the user to dragthe planar surface of the ground 217 within the image 207 using a mouseor other input device to area on the image 207 corresponding to wherethe walls of the building in the image intersect the ground or buildingfoundation shown in image 207 of the building.

Namely, as shown in FIG. 2C, a default value is assessed as a startingpoint for the height of the wall and, thus, used for a first renderingof the house. The created image is then overlaid on one or morephotographic images to determine if it matches and adjustments made, ifneeded, to have the created image more accurately match the photographicimage.

In one embodiment, the planar surface of the ground 217 representing thefootprint of the building is visually slidable only along a verticalaxis represented by parallel vertical lines 219 with respect to athree-dimensional model of the roof 221 having a corresponding angle ofview to the oblique view of the building shown in the image 207. In thisway, the user is able to adjust the vertical position of the planarsurface of the ground 217 representing the footprint of the buildingunder the transparent three-dimensional model of the roof 221 of thebuilding while keeping the corners of the planar surface 217representing the building footprint in line with the correspondingcorners of the three-dimensional model of the roof 221. In someembodiments, the planar surface of the ground 217 representing thefootprint of the building is selectively movable in any direction andthe user may then selectively lock movement of the planar surface of theground 217 representing the footprint of the building to restrictmovement to be along a vertical axis, a perpendicular horizontal axis,or any other axis with respect to a three-dimensional model of the roof221 overlaid on the image 207. Also, the plane 217 representing thefootprint may be adjusted relative to the three-dimensional model of theroof 221 of the building without the three-dimensional model of the roof221 of the building also actually being visually overlaid on any imageof the building.

For split level homes, the planar surface of the ground 217 having theoverall shape of the building footprint may be split into two or moresections at positions or lines indicated by the user which each havedifferent vertical (i.e., elevation) positions with thethree-dimensional reference framework of the three-dimensional model ofthe roof 221 as overlaid on image 221. These vertical positions may bedefined by the user being able to move two or more sections of theplanar surfaces 216 individually along vertical positions within thethree-dimensional reference framework of the three-dimensional model ofthe roof 221, namely, along the vertical axis represented by a group ofthe parallel vertical lines 219). Each split section of the planarsurface of the ground 217 may also be individually moved, manipulated,corrected and/or rotated within the three-dimensional referenceframework defined by the position of the three-dimensional model of theroof 221 as overlaid on image 221.

As can be seen in FIG. 2B, reference point 229 on the roof is selectedto be where the wall meets the roof and not at the edge of the roof.Thus, the length of the eave and the slope of the roof will not be afactor that might cause an error in the wall height measurement.

Referring again to FIG. 2C, as roofs of buildings often overhang theexterior walls of the building, such as at roof eaves, at other portionsof the roof meeting building walls, etc., the location of the walls ofthe building may define an actual building foundation footprint havingan area and shape that is smaller and/or different than that of thebuilding footprint initially represented by the shape of the planarpolygon surface whose boundary is defined the extent of the footprint ofthe building's roof outline as viewed from a nadir (overhead) viewpoint217. If the overhang amount of the eaves can be easily determined (suchin the case of box-like commercial building lacking eaves), or assigneda default value based on typical construction practices in the area theinitial floor footprint and wall location might be based on a top planview, without the need to visualize the offset of the foundation fromthe eaves. This is due to the planar surface of the ground 217 havingthe shape of the building footprint being initially based on the outlineof the three-dimensional model of the roof 221 roof as shown from a topplan view, also shown in image 209 in FIG. 2C of the three-dimensionalmodel of the roof 221. Thus, one embodiment “erodes” the planar surfaceof the foundation 217 having the shape of the building footprint bydisplacing line segments defining the boundary of the footprintfoundation 217 away from the roof edges to account for the area underthe overhanging eaves that is not part of the foundation footprint Theadjusted line segments then may provide a more accurate indication ofthe actual position of the exterior walls of the building and the actualfootprint of the building defined by the nadir (overhead) roof profile.

This reduction in the size of the plane 217 having the shape of thebuilding footprint may be performed using automated algorithmic methodsprior to the footprint 217 being rendered or otherwise overlaid on theimage 207 such that the boundary of the footprint 217 having the shapeof the building footprint can be more accurately assesed with the actuallocations of the exterior walls of the building on the ground shown inthe image 207.

For example, shown in image 209 on panel 202 is a planar surface 217having the shape of the building footprint overlaid on the image 217showing a top plan, namely orthogonal, view of the building. As shown onimage 209, the planar surface 217 having the shape of the buildingfootprint has been reduced. To do this, boundary of the footprint hasbeen eroded inward to account for the sections of the roof whichoverhang the exterior walls. The user may adjust the length and positionof line segments of the polygon bounding the footprint 217 having theshape of the building footprint using an input device (mouse, touchscreen, etc.) of the system based on a best estimate or also based on anidentification of where such overhangs may be viewable in images of theroof of the same building, image 209 and/or image 207. This adjustmentcan be seen by comparing the blue line 217 that represents the buildingfootprint or the ground with the roof edge 230 in FIG. 2C. Additionallyor alternatively, the system may perform the adjustment of the planarsurface 217 having the shape of the building footprint according to adefault value corresponding to typical lengths that roofs overhangexterior walls (e.g., by 1.5 feet) and the number and length of rooffeatures identified by the computer software, and/or by the user in thethree-dimensional model of the roof 221 which are known to typicallyoverhang an exterior wall for example, along roof edge 230, edges of theroof of the building shown in image 207 and 209 identified as roofeaves, etc. Alternatively, image processing methods assessing the groundsurface and any identified features indicating wall-ground intersectionpoint may automatically erode and position the foundation footprintwithout further user involvement.

In many embodiments, the reduction in the size of the line segmentsdefining the planar surface of the ground 217 having the shape of thebuilding footprint may be additionally and/or selectively performed atany point in the process described herein before exterior walls areadded in generating a three-dimensional model of the building. Forexample, in one embodiment, when the user clicks the “create lower”button the initial non-reduced version of foundation footprint 217 maybe overlaid on corresponding areas of the building in oblique image 207and/orthogonal image 209 as described above. If need be, the user firstreduces the foundation footprint 217 by causing the system to performadjustment based on default or values input by the user and clicking the“erode” button 203.

Additionally or alternatively, the system adjusts the foundationfootprint 217 on either or both of the images 207 and 209, namely,adjusts the boundary of the footprint polygon(s) to account for thesections of the roof which overhang the exterior walls based on userinput generated by the user using an input device to indicate to thesystem how much to reduce the line segments of the foundation footprint217 having the shape of the building footprint. For example, this may beby the user clicking and dragging various boundary line segments orcorners of foundation footprint 217 overlaid on the image 209 and/or theimage 207. In many embodiments, the reduction or erosion iof the shapeof the building footprint may be additionally and/or selectivelyperformed at any point in the process described herein in generatingwall measurements.

FIG. 2D is an example screenshot 230 of the user interface of the systemof FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing athree-dimensional model of the building 224 generated using thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210 and the planar surface of theground 216 under the roof shown in FIG. 2B, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment.

For example, the screenshot 200 may be displayed as a first part of theprocess 110 shown in FIG. 1B in which the process generates a wall 226in the three-dimensional model of the building 224 by extending the wallfrom along a corresponding edge of the roof 210 toward the planarsurface of the ground 216 according to where the planar surface of theground 216 is positioned by the system and/or by the user below thethree-dimensional model of the roof 210 as described above.

In one embodiment screen shot 230 is created in response to a userselecting the “create walls” button 228, the wall area estimation systemextends the wall 226 of the three-dimensional model of the building 224a distance from an edge of the roof until either intersecting planarsurface of the ground 216 or intersecting another surface of the roof,according to the three-dimensional model of the roof 210. Since theexact roof shape is provided as a known value at the start of theprocess, variations of the intersection of the upper boundary of thewall a with sloped roof contours will be taken into account when themodel of the wall is created for multi-level structures, the upper andlower boundaries of portions of walls may defined by the intersection ofroof sections that are layered in elevation. Likewise, if a complexground surface model is provided as a known at the start of the process,variations along the intersection of the wall model with the groundsurface model will be taken into account to delineate the above-groundportions of a wall from below grade portions of the wall. In thismanner, both the dimensions and shape of the wall may be built withinthe three-dimensional model of the building 224. These may include, forexample, a triangular shape of the wall 226 underneath a roof gable asshown in the three-dimensional model of the roof 210, or (as shown inFIG. 5) a section of a wall 502 between an upper planar section 506 ofthe roof and a different lower planar section 504 of the roof.

This process may be repeated for each exterior wall of the building byrepeating the process for each edge of the roof based on that each edgeof the roof potentially rests on top of or overhangs at least a portionof an exterior wall at locations on the roof directly above the linesegments of the planar surface of the ground 216 having the shape of thebuilding footprint to generate the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224. Additionally or alternatively, since each line segment ofthe planar surface of the ground 216 having the shape of the buildingfootprint corresponds to a potential location of at least one exteriorwall, the system may generate the walls in the three-dimensional modelof the building based on inserting vertical planar surfaces,representing the exterior walls, filling in spaces between the linesegments of the planar surface of the ground 216 having the shape of thebuilding footprint and the three-dimensional model of the roof 210.

Once the three-dimensional model of the building 224 is generated, wallarea calculations are performed by the system based on the size andshape of the walls of the building in the model 224. These wall areameasurements may be displayed on the graphical user interface, such ason corresponding areas of the walls in three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224, or anywhere else within the user interface. Also, thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 may be rotated and viewedfrom any angle. For example, this angle may correspond to the angle ofview in the aerial image displayed on the right panel 204 of thegraphical user interface, such as shown in FIG. 3.

In particular, FIG. 3 is an example screenshot 300 of the user interfaceof the system of FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing anorth side perspective view of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224 on panel 204 and, optionally, panel 202, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment. Note, however, the compassindicator 303 on panel 202 indicates the direction the viewer is facingaccording to the angle of view of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224 shown in panel 202, whereas the building face indicator305, indicates generally the direction the face of the building largelyshown in the image in panel 204 is facing. The building face indicator305, indicates generally the direction the face of the building largelyshown in the image in panel 204 is facing according to the angle of viewof the building shown in shown in panel 204 and/or the angle of view ofthe three-dimensional model of the building 224 as overlaid on thebuilding in the image shown in panel 204. Various other views fromdifferent angles and sides (e.g., south, east and west views; plan,elevation and side views, etc.) may also be rendered and displayed inthe left panel 202 and the corresponding right panel 204 which may ormay not include the corresponding image of the building.

As shown in FIG. 4 though FIG. 6, the view of the three-dimensionalmodel of the building 224 may, optionally, be different in panel 202 andpanel 204 and selectable by the user by rotating the respectivethree-dimensional model of the building 224 in the respective panel 202or panel 204. For example, FIG. 4 is an example screenshot 400 of theuser interface of the system of FIG. 2A showing an east side perspectiveview of the three-dimensional model of the building 224 in the image onpanel 204 and a south side elevation view of the three-dimensional modelof the building 224 on panel 202. FIG. 5 is an example screenshot 500 ofthe user interface of the system of FIG. 2A showing a west sideperspective view of the three-dimensional model of the building 224 inthe image on panel 204 and a west side elevation view of thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 on panel 202. Note the lowersection of the roof 504 and wall section 502 between the lower sectionof the roof 504 and the upper section of the roof 506 on the west facingside of the building are visible because, in the example embodimentshown, the building walls of the three-dimensional model of the building224 on panel 202 are transparent or translucent.

FIG. 6 is an example screenshot 600 of the user interface of the systemof FIG. 2A showing a top plan view of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224 on panel 202 and an east side perspective view of thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 in the image on panel 204.The three-dimensional model of the building 224 shown in FIG. 2D thoughFIG. 7 can be manipulated by the user or automatically by the system invarious manners to effect changes to the model, which result inautomatic corresponding changes to the wall area measurements based onthe walls of the generated building model 224.

For example, FIG. 7 is a screenshot 700 of the user interface of thesystem of FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showingselection of a building wall 226 of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Asshown in FIG. 7, the user has moved the cross hair cursor 203 to selectthe wall 226 of the three-dimensional model of the building 224. Notethe selected wall is highlighted in panel 202 as shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8A is an example screenshot 800 of the user interface of the systemof FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing removal of theselected building wall 226 of the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224 of FIG. 7, according to one non-limiting illustratedembodiment. Once the wall is removed, it is also removed from thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 overlaid on the image of thebuilding in the right panel 204, causing the tree 802 previously blockedby the wall 226 to be revealed in the image. As a result, the total areaof all the walls of the house as measured by the computer system may bereduced by the area of the wall 226 that was removed from the buildingmodel 224. The user may also select and remove sections of the wallwhere windows, doors or other openings exist by selecting the area, forexample, using the cursor 203 or placing a graphical user interfaceelement representing the shape of such a feature on a wall of thebuilding model 224.*

In some embodiments, as shown above, multiple panels of the userinterface may each show a different view of the three-dimensional modelof the building 224. When the user changes the model using the graphicaluser interface in any one panel, the corresponding change will appear inthe other panels showing the change as seen from the differentcorresponding view of each respective panel. For example, if the userplaces a graphical user interface element representing a window on oneof the walls of the three-dimensional model of the building 224, thenthat window will be visible from the different corresponding view ofeach respective panel. In this manner, the correct placement of theobject or change to the three-dimensional model of the building 224 maybe visually verified with the image of the building according to theangle of the building in the image.

FIGS. 8B and 8C are example screenshots of the user interface of thesystem of FIG. 2A for generating wall area measurements showing a cursorused to mark areas for removal (i.e., “cut-outs”) from, and for theplacement of graphical objects representing wall-penetrating items(e.g., windows and doors) onto, the selected building wall 226 of thethree-dimensional model of the building 224 of FIG. 7, according to onenon-limiting illustrated embodiment. For example, in some embodiments,the cursor 203 itself is a line drawing of a planar surface in the shapeof a graphical user interface element representing an object such as asquare, circle, selected item, or selected building feature of a presetor selectable size, for example, the cursor 203 can be the size of awindow, door, front door, back door, garage door, sliding glass door,soffit, etc., such that when the cursor is placed on a planar surfacethat represents a wall of the three-dimensional model of the building224, the angle of view of the line drawing of the selected object thatis acting as the cursor 203 matches that of the planar surface of thethree-dimensional model of the building 225 on which it is currentlyplaced. In effect, the object acting as the cursor, in the shape of awindow, door, etc., looks how it would if it were placed on the wallthat the cursor is currently on according to the current angle of viewof the wall. This is shown in FIG. 8B, where the cursor 203 in thepresent example, selected to be in the shape of a window, is displayedby the system as how the window would appear on a first wall 813 of thebuilding from the angle of view of the building shown in FIG. 8B. The“stamp” surrounding the cursor 203 defining the window in the presentexample is represented as a (physically scaled) shape moving with thecursor 203, in this case, is the black square surrounding the crosshairof the cursor 203. For example, in FIG. 8B, shown is an example wherethe user has moved the cursor 203 from wall 813 to a second wall 815,which is positioned at a different angle than wall 813. The cursor 203and the black square surrounding the crosshair of the cursor 203 shownin FIG. 8C is now displayed by the system as the window would appear onthe second wall 815 of the building from the angle of view of thebuilding shown in FIG. 8C. Corresponding views of the cursor are shownin both panels 202 and 204.

The user may then click a mouse button or otherwise indicate using aninput device that the object that is acting as the cursor 203 is to beplaced on and become part of the three-dimensional model of the building224 at or near the current location of the cursor 203. The user may thenresize the object that is representing a square, circle, window, door,front door, back door, garage door, sliding glass door, soffit, etc.,placed on the three-dimensional model of the building 224 using thecursor 203. This area can then be subtracted from the wall areameasurement if such a subtraction is appropriate for a particularapplication consuming reported wall area values.

The use of cursor 203 is a quick and convenient way to subtract the areaof a feature from the wall. For example, the cursor 203 can be placed inthe shape of a window or door and then the operator can place thiswindow or door on each wall at the true door location as shown in theimages. By clicking the cursor 203, the area of the door will beautomatically subtracted from the wall area. The same can be done forround windows, diamond windows, or other similar geometric shapes. Thisis described further with respect to FIGS. 8B and 8C and theaccompanying description above.

Often, the siding or other material placed on exterior walls of abuilding often does not extend up to the point where the exterior wallactually meets the roof. For example, a soffit is a horizontal undersideof a roof overhang, namely, the overhang of roof eaves described above,and includes a horizontal piece of material extending between theoutside of the exterior wall and the edge of the roof that overhangs theexterior wall. Often, the siding or other material placed on such anexterior wall is not installed on the area of the exterior wall thatextends above this horizontal soffit piece of material since that areais hidden by the horizontal piece of material and the portion of theroof overhanging the exterior wall. Thus, to exclude the area of theexterior walls of the three-dimensional model of the building 224 onwhich siding is not typically installed, one embodiment the system willsubtract from the wall areas calculations used for wall siding materialestimation purposes, etc., the section of the wall(s) above the soffit.

In some embodiments, the section of a wall above a soffit is indicatedon the rendered three-dimensional model of the building 224 such thatthe user can adjust the location and/or size of these areas. The systemmay, for example, initially assume a soffit exists where a horizontaledge of the roof overhangs the walls, the distance of the roof eaves, inthe generated three-dimensional model of the building 224.Alternatively, the distance of the roof overhang may be set by the userand/or based on a typical roof overhang distance. In some embodiments,the user may indicate the sections of one or more walls above a soffiton the three-dimensional model of the building 224 or otherwise input tothe system data regarding locations of sections of one or more wallsabove a soffit.

The resulting wall measurements, roof measurements, measurements ofareas missing from the wall, etc., generated by the wall estimationsystem may be used to generate a wall estimate report, or a combinedroof and wall estimate report and/or a combined wall, floor and/or roofestimate report, etc. The estimate report may include various differentidentifiers indicating different features and measurements displayed onimages and/or line drawings of the building and/or in different areas ofthe report based on the generated three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224.

Non-limiting examples of such reports are provided in FIGS. 10A-10P,FIGS. 11A-11P and FIGS. 16-18 attached hereto. In some embodiments, allor any combination of the user interface features, graphical imagesand/or renderings of the building, building roof, building walls,building model and/or line drawings shown in the user interfaces inFIGS. 2A through 8 and in the accompanying description of the system forestimating wall area may also be included in the wall estimation reportdescribed herein. For example, the three-dimensional model of thebuilding 224 described herein, or some version thereof, may also beprovided in the report. In one embodiment, the three-dimensional modelof the building 224 may be overlaid on an image of the building in thereport.

Also, these reports may include, but are not limited to including:identification of total lengths and areas of all the walls or individualwalls; perspective and elevation views of only the walls or the wallstogether with a transparent line drawings of the roof; the entirethree-dimensional model of the building or sections thereof; shading ofthe walls to differentiate the walls from each other; lighter or darkershading of different walls in perspective views of the different wallsdepending on how close to the viewer the walls appear to be in the view;perspective and elevation views of images of the building; perspectiveand elevation views of images of the building with line drawings of thewalls overlaid of the images; labeling on the perspective and elevationviews of the walls based on the angle of view shown in the line drawingand/or labeling of the walls based on which walls are best visible inthe angle of view shown in the line drawing; wall area of only thelabeled walls that are best visible and/or based on percentage ofvisibility of non-transparent walls as shown in the line drawing;lengths of line segments defining the walls; perimeter measurements ofwalls, window, door building features on the wall or selected labeledwalls; identification and total and/or individual vertical lengths ofinside corners of intersecting exterior walls (e.g., corners on theoutside of the building of angles less that 180 degrees); identificationand total and/or individual vertical lengths of outside corners of theexterior intersecting walls (e.g., corners on the outside of thebuilding having angles more than 180 degrees). The report, diagrams, orelectronic representations of the content sufficient to regenerate themmay be communicated or provided electronically by the wall estimationsystem or other 3^(rd) party system in various configurations andformats required by the insurance, real estate and constructionindustries, and/or printed and mailed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a computing environment in whichsystems and methods for estimation of building wall area may beimplemented or of which they may be a part. For example, processes 100,110 and 120 described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1A-1C may beperformed or implemented by, for example, one or more software modulesor components or any combination of suitable hardware, firmware orsoftware components or devices including those that are a part of,stored in, or configure the computing environment of FIG. 9. Also, thegraphical user interface functions and features of the wall areaestimation system may be performed or implemented by, for example, oneor more software modules or components or any combination of suitablehardware, firmware or software components or devices including thosethat are a part of, stored in, or configure the computing environment ofFIG. 9.

The computing environment 900 will at times be referred to in thesingular herein, but this is not intended to limit the embodiments to asingle device since in typical embodiments there may be more than onecomputer system or device involved. Unless described otherwise, theconstruction and operation of the various blocks shown in FIG. 9 are ofconventional design. As a result, such blocks need not be described infurther detail herein, as they will be understood by those skilled inthe relevant art.

The computing environment 900 may include one or more processing units912 a, 912 b (collectively 912), a system memory 914 and a system bus916 that couples various system components including the system memory914 to the processing units 912. The processing units 912 may be anylogic processing unit, such as one or more central processing units(CPUs) 912 a, digital signal processors (DSPs) 912 b, digital video oraudio processing units such as coder-decoders (codecs) orcompression-decompression units, application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.

The system bus 916 can employ any known bus structures or architectures,including a memory bus with memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus. The system memory 914 includes read-only memory (“ROM”) 918and random access memory (“RAM”) 920. A basic input/output system(“BIOS”) 922, which can form part of the ROM 918, contains basicroutines that help transfer information between elements within thecomputing environment 900, such as during start-up.

The computing environment 900 may include a hard disk drive 924 forreading from and writing to a hard disk 926 (including a solid statememory device), an optical disk drive 928 for reading from and writingto removable optical disks 932, and/or a magnetic disk drive 930 forreading from and writing to magnetic disks 934. The optical disk 932 canbe a CD-ROM, while the magnetic disk 934 can be a magnetic floppy diskor diskette.

The hard disk drive 924, optical disk drive 928 and magnetic disk drive930 may communicate with the processing unit 912 via the system bus 916.The hard disk drive 924, optical disk drive 928 and magnetic disk drive930 may include interfaces or controllers (not shown) coupled betweensuch drives and the system bus 916, as is known by those skilled in therelevant art.

The drives 924, 928 and 930, and their associated computer-readablestorage media 926, 932, 934, may provide nonvolatile and non-transitorystorage of computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules and other data for the computing environment 900. Although thedepicted computing environment 900 is illustrated employing a hard disk924, optical disk 928 and magnetic disk 930, those skilled in therelevant art will appreciate that other types of computer-readablestorage media that can store data accessible by a computer may beemployed, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory, solid state drives,digital video disks (“DVD”), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, smartcards, etc. For example, computer-readable storage media may include,but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),flash memory, compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, solid statememory or any other medium which can be used to store the desiredinformation and which may be accessed by processing unit 912 a.

Program modules can be stored in the system memory 914, such as anoperating system 936, one or more application programs 938, otherprograms or modules 940 and program data 942. Application programs 938may include instructions that cause the processor(s) 912 to performgenerating digital roof models, generating roof and wall areameasurements, and store and display input images or images generated bycreating digital roof models and generating roof and wall areameasurements, including the processes described herein. Other programmodules 940 may include instructions for handling security such aspassword or other access protection and communications encryption. Thesystem memory 914 may also include communications programs, for example,a Web client or browser 944 for permitting the computing environment 900to access and exchange data including digital images, roof measurementsand other building data with sources such as Web sites of the Internet,corporate intranets, extranets, or other networks and devices, as wellas other server applications on server computing systems. The browser944 in the depicted embodiment is markup language based, such asHypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML) orWireless Markup Language (WML), and operates with markup languages thatuse syntactically delimited characters added to the data of a documentto represent the structure of the document. A number of Web clients orbrowsers are commercially available such as those from Mozilla, Google,and Microsoft of Redmond, Wash.

While shown in FIG. 9 as being stored in the system memory 914, theoperating system 936, application programs 938, other programs/modules940, program data 942 and browser 944 can be stored on the hard disk 926of the hard disk drive 924, the optical disk 932 of the optical diskdrive 928 and/or the magnetic disk 934 of the magnetic disk drive 930.

An operator can enter commands and information into the computingenvironment 900 through input devices such as a touch screen or keyboard946 and/or a pointing device such as a mouse 948, and/or via a graphicaluser interface in order to receive, process, store and send data onwhich wall area measurement estimation has been or will be performed asdescribed herein. Other input devices can include a microphone,joystick, game pad, tablet, scanner, etc. These and other input devicesare connected to one or more of the processing units 912 through aninterface 950 such as a serial port interface that couples to the systembus 916, although other interfaces such as a parallel port, a game portor a wireless interface or a universal serial bus (“USB”) can be used. Amonitor 952 or other display device is coupled to the system bus 916 viaa video interface 954, such as a video adapter which may be configuredto display images used by or generated by wall area measurementestimation as described herein. The computing environment 900 caninclude other output devices, such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computing environment 900 can operate in a networked environmentusing logical connections to one or more remote computers and/ordevices. For example, the computing environment 900 can operate in anetworked environment using logical connections to one or more othercomputing systems, mobile devices and other service providers orinformation servers that provide the digital images in various format orby other electronic delivery methods.

Communications may be via a wired and/or wireless network architecture,for instance wired and wireless enterprise-wide computer networks,intranets, extranets, telecommunications networks, cellular networks,paging networks, and other mobile networks.

FIGS. 10A-10P show a non-limiting example of a wall estimate report,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. In particular,FIG. 10A is a first page of a non-limiting example of the wall estimatereport. Shown in FIG. 10A is a top plan view of a 3D model of a roof ofthe building that is the subject of the wall estimate report in whichfacets appear as semi-transparent to reveal overhangs. Also shown is aproperty details section including roof measurements including totalroof area, pitch of roof segments, total length measurements ofridges/hips, valleys, rakes, eaves, total wall area and total number offacets. A table of contents of the wall estimate report is listed in aReport Contents section in FIG. 10A including page designations forindividual sections of the wall estimate report named: Images, LengthDiagram, Pitch Diagram, Roof Area Diagram, Notes Diagram, 3D Wall AreaDiagram, Alternative 3D Wall View, a Missing Wall Diagram, ElevationDiagrams and Report Summary.

FIG. 10B is a second page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. The Imagessection of the wall estimate report starts on FIG. 10B. Shown in FIG.10B is an image of the building which is a photograph of the buildingshowing a top substantially orthogonal view of the building and the roofof the building.

FIG. 10C is a third page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10C are two images of the building, which are each photographs ofthe building, one showing a top perspective (oblique) view of the northfacing side of the building and the other one showing a top perspective(oblique) view of the south facing side of the building.

FIG. 10D is a fourth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10D are two images of the building, which are each photographs ofthe building, one showing a top perspective (oblique) view of the eastfacing side of the building and the other one showing a top perspective(oblique) view of the west facing side of the building.

FIG. 10E is a fifth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10E is a line drawing showing a top plan view of a 3D model of theroof of the building that is the subject of the wall estimate reportwhich includes segment lengths shown on the report next to theapplicable segment (rounded to the nearest whole number) over 5 feet.Plus signs preface some numbers to avoid confusion when rotated (e.g.,+6 and +9). Roof ridges are shown drawn in red. Roof valleys are showndrawn in blue. Roof rakes are shown drawn in green. Roof eaves are showndrawn in black. Roof flashing is shown drawn in brown and any parapetswould be shown drawn in grey. These color codes are shown in a topsection of the page of FIG. 10E by coloring the text naming the rooffeature and showing the total lengths of each roof feature in thecorresponding color of the line segment(s) in the diagram of thecorresponding different roof feature. There is a Detailed LengthDiagram, in the Appendix at the end of the report shown on FIG. 10P.

FIG. 10F is a sixth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10F is a line drawing showing a top plan view of a 3D model of theroof of the building. The pitches and associated arrows indicative ofthe direction of pitches for different roof segments are shown on theline drawing within each different corresponding roof segment on theline drawing.

FIG. 10G is a seventh page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10G is a line drawing showing a top plan view of a 3D model of theroof of the building. The areas of different roof segments are shown onthe line drawing within each different corresponding roof segment on theline drawing. Also shown is a total number of and area of all the roofsegments (i.e., roof facets).

FIG. 10H is an eighth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10H is a Notes Diagram of the building roof including a linedrawing showing a top plan view of a 3D model of the roof of thebuilding. Labels from smallest to largest (A to Z) of different roofsegments (i.e., facets) are shown on the line drawing within eachdifferent corresponding roof segment on the line drawing. The labels maybe used to cross reference notes in a different area of the reportrelated to each corresponding roof segment.

FIG. 10I is a ninth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10I is a 3D Wall Area Diagram of the building including a linedrawing showing a top perspective view of a 3D model of the walls of thesouth facing side of the building. Different planar walls surfaces ofthe building are shown being shaded differently from each other and theplanar surfaces of the roof facets are shown as transparent.

The wall area measurement estimate report may include multiple linedrawings of the building. Each of the multiple line drawings is from adifferent angle of view of the building. In some embodiments, at leasttwo of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle ofview above the building. A first of the perspective views issubstantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior cornerof the house that is approximately opposite of, or in a view that isabout 90 degrees rotationally different from, a view showing a secondsubstantially vertical exterior corner of the house. A second one of theperspective views is substantially centered on this second substantiallyvertical exterior corner of the house. For example, FIG. 10I and FIG.10J are perspective views of opposite corners of exterior walls of thebuilding. Note that in FIG. 10I and FIG. 10J the line drawing of theroof is transparent, semi-transparent or translucent to show interiorsurfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of theperspective views shown in FIG. 10I and FIG. 10J.

The angle of view above the building may be dependent on a height of thebuilding. For example, the angle of view above the building may increaseas the height of the building increases to provide a better angle ofview of the interior surfaces of the walls of the building. The angle ofview above the building may also be dependent on a height to depth toratio of the building. This angle of view above the building mayincrease as the height of the building increases if the depth stays thesame.

As seen in FIG. 10I and FIG. 10J, the system provides shading oninterior surfaces of walls that are shown in the perspective views thatis darker than shading provided on exterior surfaces of walls shown inthe perspective views. Also, shading is provided of the surfaces of thewalls such that no two connected walls are of a same shade. A number ofdifferent shades of the walls in each perspective view may beproportional to a total number of walls shown in the perspective view.This is because shading is provided such that no two connected walls areof a same shade and therefore, more different shades are required formore different connecting walls. Also, the gradations of shadings usedalternate for walls between different views, to facilitate making surethat no two connected walls are of a same shade.

Also shown is a “Wall Area By Direction” chart showing estimatedindividual total areas of different walls surfaces, showing acategorization of the planar wall surfaces according to which directionthe planar wall surfaces generally face, and showing a total estimatedwall area of the planar wall surfaces for each category.

FIG. 10J is a tenth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Shown inFIG. 10J is a 3D Alternative Wall View Diagram of the building includinga line drawing showing a top perspective view of a 3D model of the wallsof the building showing the generally north facing and the generallywest facing sides of the building. Different planar walls surfaces ofthe building are shown being shaded differently from each other and theplanar surfaces of the roof facets are shown as transparent. Also shownis a “Wall Area By Direction” chart showing estimated individual totalareas of different walls surfaces, showing a categorization of theplanar wall surfaces according to which direction the planar wallsurfaces generally face, and showing a total estimated wall area of theplanar wall surfaces for each category.

FIG. 10K is an eleventh page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.Shown in FIG. 10K is a 3D Missing Wall Diagram of the building includinga line drawing showing a top perspective view of a 3D model of the wallsof the building showing the generally south facing side of the building.Different planar walls surfaces of the building are shown being shadeddifferently from each other and the planar surfaces of the roof facetsare shown as transparent. Each section of a planar wall surface that iseither (i) is a truly an unoccupied hole or void in the wall or (ii) awall hole or void that is occupied by a penetrating object (such as awindow or door), that will not be counted in calculation of area of thecorresponding planar wall surface (i.e., a “missing” wall surface) islabeled on the line drawing within the corresponding void in the wallsurface. Also shown is a “Missing Wall Measurements” chart showingestimated individual total areas of the different wall voids, showing acategorization of the area voids according to which direction the wallof the missing wall surface generally faces, and showing a totalestimated missing wall area of the wall voids for each category.

As shown in FIG. 10K, labeling is provided for each corresponding wallin the line drawings with a designated corresponding character orcombination of characters. Each hole in the corresponding wall islabeled with the corresponding character or combination of characterswith which the corresponding wall is labeled followed by one or moreadditional character or combination of characters to designate that thehole is a hole of the corresponding wall. For example, the holes in thewall for wall C are labeled C1 and C2 to designate these are holes ofwall C, which is shown labeled in FIG. 10I.

FIG. 10L is a twelfth page of a non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Each ofthe multiple line drawings 10L to 10O are from a different correspondingangle of view of the building. These are elevation views of differentsides of the building from a corresponding first, second, third andfourth angle of view of the building, respectively. The first and thirdangles of view, corresponding to FIGS. 10L and 10O, are of exteriorwalls of the building facing substantially opposite of each other,labeled as ‘East’ and ‘West’. The compass direction labels, such as‘East’ indicate an assignment of that elevation viewpoint to the nearestapplicable compass direction, but does not necessarily indicate aelevation projected due East. The second and fourth angles of view arealso of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite ofeach other, North and South. In some embodiments, included in one ormore of the elevation views of the building, a shading of an edge of awall to designate the edge of the wall is behind another wall in thecorresponding view. For example, the shading of the edge of the wall todesignate the edge of the wall is behind another wall in a correspondingview may be a lighter shade than that in the one or more of theelevation views of the building of wall edges which are not behind otherwalls in the corresponding view.

As shown in Figures drawings 10L to 10O, shown in each of the elevationviews of the building are only walls which are designated as facing aviewer in the corresponding elevation view. In each of the elevationviews of the building, in some embodiments, only walls which aredesignated as facing the viewer in the corresponding view of theelevation views are shown in the corresponding view. For example, thismay include designating, for each of the views, which walls are facingthe viewer for the particular angle of view based on a difference in theangle of the walls with respect to the angle of view. This may includedesignating a wall as facing the viewer for the corresponding angle ofview if a difference in the angle of the wall with respect to thecorresponding angle of view is below a defined threshold difference,which may be varied. For ease of readability, the line drawings of theelevation views may in some embodiments show labels of walls shown inone of the elevation views of the building, but not labels of holes inthe walls of the elevation views on the drawing. The opposite also mayhold true, and the system may generate a wall report showing labels ofholes in walls shown in a second view of the building, but not labels ofthe walls shown in a second view of the building.

The system may determine the corresponding first, second, third andfourth angle of view of the building for the corresponding elevationview by determining orientation angles of substantially all verticalwalls of the building relative to the orientation of a referencevertical plane. For presentation purposes, all substantially verticalexterior walls of the building may be grouped together with other wallswhich have similar orientation angles within a defined thresholddifference in angle. The system may then determine the first predominateorientation angle of view based on the dominant orientation angle withinthe set of walls comprising first grouping of walls. In groupingtogether sets of walls with of similar orientation, each elevation viewwill have a better chance of being more meaningful to the end user dueto while reducing visual clutter

The differences between the different views may then be determined basedon the first view orientation angle by virtually turning the house, or“rotating around” the exterior of the house by 90 degrees each time. Inparticular, the system determines the second view orientation angle tobe approximately a difference of 90 degrees from the first angle ofview. The system determines the third view orientation angle to beapproximately 90 degrees opposite of the first angle of view. The systemthen determines the fourth view orientation to be approximately 90degrees opposite of the second view orientation. The system may alsodetect if two walls are overlapping in any one of the correspondingfirst, second, third and fourth view orientation of the building for thecorresponding elevation views. If two walls are overlapping in any oneof the corresponding first, second, third and fourth view orientationsof the building, the system may render the report to show only theoverlapping wall that is in front in the corresponding view.

To avoid visual clutter in some embodiments, portions of walls and/orportions of holes/voids in walls may not be receive a label in a diagramif the physical metrics (such as length and/or area) associated withthat portion of a wall has already been accounted for in a labelappearing in the model within the viewpoint. For example, the system maylabel only one height and one width of the a rectangular wall sectionand only one height and one width on one of a repeated set ofrectangular holes within the wall. This avoids cluttering the linedrawing with redundant measurement labels. For example, in FIG. 10M, thehole in wall N has only one height “5” and one width “6” labeled on thehole.

Shown in FIG. 10L is a “North Elevation Diagram” of a wall of thebuilding including a line drawing showing an elevation view of the wallsof the generally north facing side of the building. Different linesegments of the walls and the missing surfaces of the walls of thegenerally north facing side of the building are labeled withcorresponding lengths next to the corresponding line segment. Also shownare labels for the corresponding walls on the corresponding wall surfaceof each wall in the line drawing. For each of the walls shown in theline drawing, shown in a “North Elevation Details” chart is the walllabel of the wall shown in the line drawing, a number of missing wallsurfaces for the wall, an estimated individual total area of thedifferent missing wall surfaces (e.g. wall voids) for the wall, and anestimated total area of the wall. Also shown in the “North ElevationDetails” is the estimated total wall area of the walls labeled in theline drawing, the total number of missing wall surfaces of the wallslabeled in the line drawing, and a total estimated missing wall area ofthe missing wall surfaces of the walls labeled in the line drawing.

FIG. 10M is a thirteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.Shown in FIG. 10M is an “East Elevation Diagram” of a wall of thebuilding including a line drawing showing an elevation view of the wallsof the generally east facing side of the building. Different linesegments of the walls and the missing surfaces of the walls of thegenerally east facing side of the building are labeled withcorresponding lengths next to the corresponding line segment. Also shownare labels for the corresponding walls on the corresponding wall surfaceof each wall in the line drawing. For each of the walls shown in theline drawing, shown in an “East Elevation Details” chart is the walllabel of the wall shown in the line drawing, a number of missing wallsurfaces for the wall, an estimated individual total area of thedifferent missing wall surfaces for the wall, and an estimated totalarea of the wall. Also shown in the “East Elevation Details” is theestimated total wall area of the walls labeled in the line drawing, thetotal number of missing wall surfaces of the walls labeled in the linedrawing, and a total estimated missing wall area of the missing wallsurfaces of the walls labeled in the line drawing.

FIG. 10N is a fourteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.Shown in FIG. 10N is a “South Elevation Diagram” of a wall of thebuilding including a line drawing showing an elevation view of the wallsof the generally south facing side of the building. Different linesegments of the walls and the missing surfaces of the walls of thegenerally south facing side of the building are labeled withcorresponding lengths next to the corresponding line segment. Also shownare labels for the corresponding walls on the corresponding wall surfaceof each wall in the line drawing. For each of the walls shown in theline drawing, shown in a “South Elevation Details” chart is the walllabel of the wall shown in the line drawing, a number of missing wallsurfaces for the wall, an estimated individual total area of thedifferent missing wall surfaces for the wall, and an estimated totalarea of the wall. Also shown in the “South Elevation Details” is theestimated total wall area of the walls labeled in the line drawing, thetotal number of missing wall surfaces of the walls labeled in the linedrawing, and a total estimated missing wall area of the missing wallsurfaces of the walls labeled in the line drawing.

FIG. 10O is a fifteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.Shown in FIG. 10O is a “West Elevation Diagram” of a wall of thebuilding including a line drawing showing an elevation view of the wallsof the generally west facing side of the building. Different linesegments of the walls and the missing surfaces of the walls of thegenerally west facing side of the building are labeled withcorresponding lengths next to the corresponding line segment. Also shownare labels for the corresponding walls on the corresponding wall surfaceof each wall in the line drawing. For each of the walls shown in theline drawing, shown in a “West Elevation Details” chart is the walllabel of the wall shown in the line drawing, a number of missing wallsurfaces for the wall, an estimated individual total area of thedifferent missing wall surfaces for the wall, and an estimated totalarea of the wall. Also shown in the “West Elevation Details” is theestimated total wall area of the walls labeled in the line drawing, thetotal number of missing wall surfaces of the walls labeled in the linedrawing, and a total estimated missing wall area of the missing wallsurfaces of the walls labeled in the line drawing.

FIG. 10P is a sixteenth page of a non-limiting example of a wallestimate report, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.Shown in FIG. 10P is a Report Summary including a top plan view of a 3Dmodel of the roof of the building that is the subject of the wallestimate report along with the total number of estimated roof facetsused in the report for the roof. Shown also is a list of total lengths,areas and pitches for the roof, including total length and number ofridges, total length and number of hips, total length and number ofvalleys, total length and number of rakes, total length and number ofeaves/starter, total length and number of drip edge lengths(eaves+rakes), an indication there are no parapet walls labeled, totallength and number of flashing lengths, total length and number of stepflashing lengths, total estimated roof area, predominant roof pitchmeasurement, total wall area, and total estimated number of wall facetsused in the report for the roof. Also shown is the property location(e.g., location of the building) in terms of longitude and latitudecoordinates above a notes section of the report.

FIGS. 11A-11M show a second non-limiting example of a wall estimatereport, according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment. Inparticular, FIG. 11A is a first page of a second non-limiting example ofthe wall estimate report. Shown in FIG. 11A is a top plan view of a 3Dmodel of a roof of the building that is the subject of the secondexample wall estimate report in which facets appear as semi-transparentto reveal overhangs. A table of contents of the wall estimate report islisted in a Report Contents section in FIG. 11A including pagedesignations for individual sections of the wall estimate report shownin corresponding FIGS. 11B-11M. These sections are named: Images, 3DWall Area Diagram, Alternative 3D Wall View, Window and Door Diagrams,Report Summary and Additional Property Information.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example method 1200 of includingmultiple line drawings of a building in a wall area measurement report,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

At 1202, the wall area report generation system includes in the wallarea measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a buildinghaving a roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a different angleof view of the building. At least two of the multiple line drawings areperspective views from an angle of view above the building. A first ofthe perspective views is substantially centered on a first substantiallyvertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins a first exteriorwall of the building to a second exterior wall of the building that issubstantially perpendicular to the first exterior wall of the building.

A second of the perspective views is substantially centered on a secondsubstantially vertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins athird exterior wall that is substantially parallel to the first exteriorwall with a wall that is substantially parallel to the second exteriorwall. For example, FIG. 10I shows a view of the corner at theintersection of wall C and wall A and FIG. 10J shows a view of thecorner at the intersection of wall A and wall O. Wall C is substantiallyperpendicular to wall A and wall O is substantially parallel to wall C.Wall A is of course parallel to itself, i.e., extending in the samedirection, equidistant at all points (with the distance equal to zero inthis case), and never converging or diverging. Thus, this processresults in the first and second outer exterior corners centered in thefirst and second of the perspective views being any two of the fourouter exterior corners of the house shown in FIGS. 10I and 10J.

However, in some embodiments, the first and second of the perspectiveviews are only centered on two exterior corners that are not on oppositesides of the house, but that are seen by the system “rotating” the viewof the building just about 90 degrees from the first view. Inparticular, in some embodiments, this may be accomplished by the systemrotating the three-dimensional model of the building to an elevationalview of the first substantially vertical exterior outer corner and thenrotating the three-dimensional model of the building about an axissubstantially perpendicular to the planar surface of the buildingfoundation approximately ninety degrees in the elevational view. Then,to obtain the perspective view, the system rotates the three-dimensionalmodel of the building to approximately the same angle of view above thebuilding it was at before, but now the second corner is centered in theperspective view. Also, the angle of view above the building may bedependent on a height of the building such that the angle of view abovethe building increases as the height of the building increases to keepthe interior surfaces of the walls visible when the roof is transparentor semi-transparent in the line drawing.

For example, at 1204, the wall area report generation system includes inthe first and second of the perspective views, a line drawing of theroof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of thewalls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing an example method 1300 of includingmultiple line drawings of a building in a wall area measurement reportwherein at least four of the multiple line drawings are elevation viewsof different sides of the building, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

At 1302, the wall area report generation system includes in the wallarea measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a buildinghaving a roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a differentcorresponding angle of view of the building. At least four of themultiple line drawings are elevation views of different sides of thebuilding from a corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle ofview of the building, respectively. The first and third angles of vieware of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite ofeach other. The second and fourth angles of view are of exterior wallsof the building facing substantially opposite of each other.

At 1304, the wall area report generation system includes in one or moreof the elevation views of the building, a shading of an edge of a wallto designate the edge of the wall is behind another wall in acorresponding view of the one or more of the elevation views of thebuilding.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing an example method 1400 of determiningthe corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view ofcorresponding elevation views in a wall area measurement report,according to one non-limiting illustrated embodiment.

At 1402, the wall area report generation system determines angles ofsubstantially all vertical walls of the building relative to a referencevertical plane.

At 1404, the wall area report generation system groups angles ofsubstantially all vertical walls of the building into correspondinggroups of walls which have similar angles within a defined thresholddifference in orientation angles between each other relative to anorientation of a reference vertical plane This threshold difference maybe based on a variety of factors, including the total number of exteriorwalls of the building, the size of the various exterior walls, etc.

At 1406, the wall area report generation system selects a correspondinggroup of walls resulting from the grouping that has the most wallshaving similar angles within a defined threshold difference in theorientation angle. Other factors which may affect this decision include,but are not limited to, the total number of exterior walls of thebuilding, the size of the various exterior walls, etc.

At 1408, the wall area report generation system determines the firstangle of view based on the selected corresponding group of walls suchthat the angle of view is substantially facing the corresponding groupof walls. Examples of such elevational views provided in a roofestimation report are provided in FIGS. 10L-10O, 11H-11K, 17 and 18.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram 1500 showing an example method of showinglabels in a wall area measurement report, according to one non-limitingillustrated embodiment.

At 1502, the wall area report generation system shows labels of walls ina first one of the perspective views of the building, but not the labelsof the holes in the walls that are shown in a second one of theperspective views of the building. For example, see FIG. 10J. Wallslabels such as A and O are shown, but not the labels for the windows,doors, or other holes in the wall.

At 1504, the wall area report generation system shows labels of theholes in walls in a second one of the perspective views of the building,but not the labels of the walls shown in the first one of the elevationviews. For example, see FIG. 10JK. Walls hole labels such as C1 and C2are shown, but not the labels for walls such as A and C. In someembodiments, the same labeling procedure may be applied to theelevational views of the building.

FIG. 16 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of another side of the building of FIG. 16, with a linedrawing of a wall indicated as being partially blocked by an object inan image of the building or otherwise having an issue affecting theaccuracy of the wall area estimation of the wall. The example wallestimation report page shown in FIG. 16 is a closer view of the samepage of the example wall estimation report shown in FIG. 11J. Inparticular wall “D” 1601 is partially blocked by wall “J” 1603 in theparticular view of the building shown in FIG. 16. This is indicated bythe line drawing of wall “D” 1601 being shaded or colored differentlythan the other walls shown in the elevation view of FIG. 16. Thedesignation may also or instead be made as a result of, or in responseto, input and/or detection of the wall and/or obstruction by an operatorof the wall estimation system. In the example shown, the outline of wall“D” 1601 is shown in light gray, while the outline of the otherunobstructed wall shown in the particular view of FIG. 16, in this case,wall “J” 1603, is black. However, different designations and/orannotations may be used, including, but not limited to, different lineor surface colors, different line or surface shadings, different line orsurface patterns, different labels, etc. In this manner, one who viewsthe wall estimation report will be alerted that the entire area of thewall corresponding to the wall area measurement of that wall is not ableto be seen in the particular view.

FIG. 17 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of another side of the building with a line drawing of awall indicated as being partially blocked by an object in an image ofthe building or otherwise having an issue affecting the accuracy of thewall area estimation of the wall. The example wall estimation reportpage shown in FIG. 17 is a closer view of the same page of the examplewall estimation report shown in FIG. 11J. In particular, wall “B” 1701of the house is partially blocked by the overhang of the roof of thehouse as shown in the “South Side” photograph of the house shown in FIG.11C and by a tree in the “West Side” photograph of the house in FIG.11D. These obstructions may affect the accuracy of the area estimationof the wall based on those photographs. Therefore, wall “B” 1701 isdesignated as such by the wall estimation system, differentiating thewall from other walls in the wall estimation report.

The wall estimation system may perform detection of the wall and/or theobstruction by various image analysis techniques known to those of skillin the art. The designation may also or instead be made as a result of,or in response to, input and/or detection of the wall and/or obstructionby an operator of the wall estimation system. In the present example,the surface of wall “B” 1701 is colored yellow to differentiate the wallfrom other walls in the wall estimation report. However, differentdesignations and/or annotations may be used, including, but not limitedto, different line or surface colors, different line or surfaceshadings, different line or surface patterns, different labels, etc. Inthis manner, one who views the wall estimation report will be alertedthat there may be an issue affecting the accuracy of the wall areaestimation of the wall designated as such.

FIG. 18 is a page from an example wall estimation report showing anelevation view of yet another side of the building with a line drawingof a different wall indicated as being partially blocked by an object inan image of the building or otherwise having an issue affecting theaccuracy of the wall area estimation of the wall. The example wallestimation report page shown in FIG. 18 is a closer view of the samepage of the example wall estimation report shown in FIG. 11K. Inparticular, wall “E” 1801 of the house is partially blocked by a tree inthe “North Side” photograph of the house as shown in FIG. 11C and in the“West Side” photograph of the house as shown in FIG. 11D. Theseobstructions may affect the accuracy of the area estimation of the wallbased on those images. Therefore, wall “E” 1801 is designated as such bythe wall estimation system, differentiating the wall from other walls inthe wall estimation report.

The wall estimation system may perform detection of the wall and/or theobstruction by various image analysis techniques known to those of skillin the art. The designation may also or instead be made as a result of,or in response to, input and/or detection of the wall and/or obstructionby an operator of the wall estimation system. In the present example,the surface of wall “E” 1801 is colored yellow to differentiate the wallfrom other walls in the wall estimation report. However, differentdesignations and/or annotations may be used, including, but not limitedto, different line or surface colors, different line or surfaceshadings, different line or surface patterns, different labels, etc. Inthis manner, one who views the wall estimation report will be alertedthat there may be an issue affecting the accuracy of the wall areaestimation of the wall designated as such.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent applicationpublications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patentapplications and non-patent publications referred to in thisspecification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of theembodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of thevarious patents, applications and publications to provide yet furtherembodiments.

These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of theabove-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, theterms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should beconstrued to include all possible embodiments along with the full scopeof equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, theclaims are not limited by the disclosure.

1. A method in a system for generating a wall area measurement estimate report including a computer processor and a memory coupled to the computer processor, the method comprising: including in the wall area measurement estimate report, by the system for generating the wall area measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a building having a roof, each of the multiple line drawings showing a different angle of view of the building, wherein at least two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building, a first of the perspective views being substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins a first exterior wall of the building to a second exterior wall of the building that is approximately perpendicular to the first exterior wall of the building, and a second of the perspective views being substantially centered on a second substantially vertical exterior outer corner of the house that joins a third exterior wall that is approximately parallel to the first exterior wall with a wall that is approximately parallel to the second exterior wall; and including in the first and second of the perspective views, by the system for generating the wall area measurement estimate report, a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second of the perspective views is obtained by: rotating a three-dimensional model of the building to an elevation view of the first substantially vertical exterior outer corner; rotating the three-dimensional model of the building approximately ninety degrees in the elevational view; and rotating the three-dimensional model of the building to approximately the same angle of view above the building.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height to depth ratio of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising: providing shading on interior surfaces of walls that are shown in the perspective views that is darker than shading provided on exterior surfaces of walls shown in the perspective views.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising: providing shading of the surfaces of the walls such that no two connected walls are of a same shade.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: providing shading of outlines of the walls such that no two connected outlines of walls are of a same shade.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprising providing a number of different shades of for the walls in each perspective view proportional to a total number of walls shown in the perspective view.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: labeling each corresponding wall in at least one of the line drawings with a designated corresponding character or combination of characters; and labeling each hole in the corresponding wall with the corresponding character or combination of characters with which the corresponding wall is labeled followed by one or more additional character or combination of characters to designate the hole is a hole of the corresponding wall.
 10. A method in a system for generating a wall area measurement estimate report including a computer processor and a memory coupled to the computer processor, the method comprising: including in the wall area measurement estimate report, multiple line drawings of a building having a roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a different corresponding angle of view of the building, wherein at least four of the multiple line drawings are elevation views of different sides of the building from a corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view of the building, respectively, and wherein the first and third angles of view are of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite each other and wherein the second and fourth angles of view are of exterior walls of the building facing substantially opposite each other; and including in one or more of the elevation views of the building, a shading of an edge of a wall to designate that the edge of the wall is behind another wall in a corresponding view of the one or more of the elevation views of the building.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the shading of the edge of a wall to designate the edge of the wall is behind another wall in a corresponding view of the one or more of the elevation views of the building is a lighter shade than that in the one or more of the elevation views of the building of wall edges which are not behind other walls in the corresponding view.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising: showing in each of the elevation views of the building, only walls which are designated as facing a viewer in the corresponding a first, second and fourth angle of view of the elevation views.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the showing in each of the elevation views of the building, only walls which are designated as facing the viewer in the corresponding a first, second and fourth angle of view of the elevation views includes: designating, for each of first, second and fourth angle of view, which walls are facing the viewer for the angle of view based on a difference in the angle of the walls with respect to the angle of view.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the designating includes designating a wall as facing the viewer for the angle of view if a difference in the angle of the wall with respect to the angle of view is below a defined threshold difference.
 15. The method of claim 10 further comprising: showing labels of walls shown in a first one of the elevation views of the building, but not labels of holes in the walls of the first one of the elevation views; and showing labels of holes in walls shown in a second one of the elevation views of the building, but not labels of the walls shown in the second one of the elevation views.
 16. The method of claim 10 further comprising: determining the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angle of view of the building for the corresponding elevation view by: determining angles of substantially all vertical walls of the building relative to a reference vertical plane; grouping angles of substantially all vertical walls of the building into corresponding groups of walls which have similar orientation angles relative to an orientation of a reference vertical plane within a defined threshold difference between each other in the orientation angles; selecting a corresponding group of walls resulting from the grouping that has the most walls having similar orientation angles within a defined threshold difference between each other in the orientation angles; and determining the first angle of view based on the selected corresponding group of walls such that the first angle of view is substantially facing the corresponding group of walls.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprising: determining the second angle of view to be approximately a difference of 90 degrees from the first angle of view; determining the third angle of view to be approximately 90 degrees opposite of the first angle of view; and determining the fourth angle of view to be approximately 90 degrees opposite of the second angle of view.
 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising: detecting if two walls are overlapping in any one of the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building for the corresponding elevation views; and if two walls are overlapping in any one of the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, showing in the corresponding first, second, third or fourth angles of view only a wall of the overlapping walls that is in front of another wall of the overlapping walls.
 19. The method of claim 17 further comprising: for any rectangular walls and any rectangular holes in walls on the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, labeling on the corresponding first, second, third and fourth angles of view of the building, only one height and one width of the rectangular walls and one height and one width of the rectangular holes in the walls.
 20. A wall area measurement estimate report comprising: multiple line drawings of a building having the roof, each of the multiple line drawings from a different angle of view of the building, wherein at least two of the multiple line drawings are perspective views from an angle of view above the building, a first of the perspective views being substantially centered on a first substantially vertical exterior corner of the house that is approximately opposite of a second substantially vertical exterior corner of the house on which a second of the perspective views is substantially centered; and in the first and second of the perspective views, a line drawing of the roof that is transparent or translucent to show interior surfaces of the walls of the building in the first and second of the perspective views.
 21. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 20 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.
 22. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 21 wherein the angle of view above the building is dependent on a height to depth ratio of the building, the angle of view above the building increasing as the height of the building increases.
 23. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 21 wherein shading is provided on interior surfaces of walls that are shown in the perspective views that is darker than shading provided on exterior surfaces of walls shown in the perspective views.
 24. The wall area measurement estimate report of claim 23 wherein shading is provided on the report of the surfaces of the walls such that no two connected walls are of a same shade. 